"Thumbing through the history of Scottish Cup winners the other day, I noticed that no one seemed to have won the trophy in 1909," writes Douglas Rawlins. "Did they have a year off? What really happened?"

Ah, Douglas, you appear to have stumbled upon the story of the Hampden Riot, which resulted in the Scottish Football Association holding back the trophy. Back in 1909, Rangers and Celtic had set up another Old Firm final showdown, which went to a replay after the sides drew 2-2 in a thrilling first game. But rumours began sweeping the city that the SFA had been fixing Cup ties in a bid to ensure maximum income from replays, sparking suspicion and mistrust among both sets of supporters.

That sense of paranoia peaked after the replay on April 17, which finished in a 1-1 draw; as the players left the field an announcement revealed there would be no extra-time and the thinning patience of 60,000 supporters finally ran out. Fans from both sides united to invade the pitch for more than 2½ hours, tearing up the goalposts and setting fire to the wooden barricades. Mounted police were fended off with stones and even the goalposts, while the fire brigade was also repelled by missiles and had its hoses cut. Around 50 policemen were injured as the riot eventually left the stadium and moved towards the city centre.

Both clubs petitioned the SFA to have the tie abandoned and their demands were duly met when officials decided the match would not be replayed. The cup and all medals were withheld, although both clubs were compensated to the amount of £150, while Queen's Park received £500 for the damage. "I would suggest the withdrawal of all policemen from football matches," wrote one correspondent in the Glasgow Evening Times, "and substitute a regiment of soldiers with fixed bayonets."

"While watching some recent Liverpool games, I've heard the television commentator say 'Gerrard's cross' in each match," writes Mark Dunlop. "Are there any other possibilities for English placenames cropping up in a football commentary? Perhaps 'Robben's Dive' is in Somerset, or 'Carragher's Block' in Northumberland?"

Steven Gerrard isn't the only man with a cross - kind of - named after him, Mark. There's also a Neville's Cross just outside Durham city centre, a Hurst Cross in Ashton-under-Lyne (where, handily enough, Geoff Hurst was born), while Hunts Cross is a suburb of Liverpool. David Heathcote remembers this used to give rise to the question: what's the longest distance a goal has ever been scored from? "The answer of course is eight miles," says David. "In the Shankly days when Ian St John and Roger Hunt played together, the Liverpool Echo would often use the phrase 'St John scored from Hunt's cross.'"

Long-suffering Watford fan Keith Cundale is also rather familiar with another placename. "That legendary space between Watford's league position and the last 'safe' slot above the relegation zone," he writes. "The Watford Gap." Finally, David Boland has extended the search across the Irish sea, where "Gary Kelly and Ian Harte can offer two Dublin 'landmarks': Kelly's Corner on Camden Street and Hart(e)'s Corner in Glasnevin."

"I remember watching MotD about 30 or more years ago, when there was a technical hitch and the pictures from the match ended abruptly," recalls Bill Wilson. "The camera instantly defaulted to a relaxed Jimmy Hill in the studio with his feet on a desk, smoking a pipe, reading a broadsheet. He obviously wasn't expecting it! Can you or anybody remember the game/date/etc. And does any video exist of the event?"

"At last ... someone else who remembers the Jimmy Hill pipe incident," enthuses Gareth Morgan. "It was hilarious, although didn't happen quite as Bill describes: the show in question was not MotD but Nationwide. At end of Friday evening's edition, Jimmy Hill used to host a 10-minute slot called Sportswide, where he previewed the weekend's sport. One time, the clip from some highlights ended abruptly and Jimmy suddenly returned to the screen still sat at his desk but smoking his pipe and chatting to someone off-camera; he turned to look at the camera, realised he was back live, gave a stupid grin, muttered something like 'oh we're back' and put his pipe under the desk and carried on with show. I'm not sure of the exact date, but it would have been in 1976 or 1977."

"What was the name of the goalkeeper in the 1970s who had a plastic knuckle?" asked Tom Alice in 2002.

The man you're looking for is John Osborne of West Brom, according to Tony Mole and Neil Penny. The legendary Baggies keeper was part of a golden era in the club's history, during which West Brom won the FA Cup in 1968, the League Cup in 1966, and finished runners-up in 1967 and 1970.

Osborne is considered by many to be best keeper in the club's history - and, until Russell Hoult surpassed it, shared the record for the highest number of clean sheets kept by a West Brom keeper in one season (22) with Tony Godden. He sadly passed away in 1999.

"Is it true that a Trinidadian footballer was once banned for more than 1,000 years?" asks Stephen Warner.

"Reading about Kerry Mayo's prowess in having two Irish counties in his name, it reminded me that his wife's name is apparently also Kerry," writes George Town. "Is this correct? And if so, are there other footballers who share their name with their spouse?"

"Colin McMenamin is Gretna's top scorer so far this year with 25 goals, but with Steve Tosh and Derek Townsley having both left the club, the next highest scorers still on the club's books only have five each," points out Helena Lane. "Which got me to wondering - what is the highest-ever difference between the players finishing first and second on a club's scoring chart?"

"Which team has suffered the most consecutive relegations?" wonders Michael Bamber.